Album Review: Ages and Ages

Divisionary (Partisan)

[CHORAL POP] On the surface, Ages and Ages’ sophomore release, Divisionary, might appear to shine with as much bright optimism as the band’s debut album, 2011’s Alright You Restless.
Bringing to mind childhood summer camp—the good one, not the one where
you got 17 mosquito bites on your face—the music remains focused on the
tight, soaring vocal harmonies of the group’s seven members, rising and
falling with the vibrant acoustic guitars, shakers, hand claps and
driving bass drum.

Upon further
inspection, though, you’ll find the honeymoon is over for the
fresh-faced gang that set out to start a commune on its previous concept
album. Instead, with Divisionary, we’re introduced to a group
that has faced a storm together and is now addressing personal demons
and heavier sociological issues.

The album’s title
track grows on a simple acoustic melody, over which frontman Tim Perry
sings, “Do the right thing/ Do it all the time/ Make yourself right/
Never mind them/ Don’t you know you’re not the only one suffering?” It
slowly evolves into a swirling mass of harmonies, delicate piano and
floating strings, a conflicted mix of hopefulness and obligation. Album
opener “Light Goes Out” starts off in a similar manner, hands clapping
behind Perry’s musings on the nature of authenticity, which quickly
morphs into a spiral of group vocals, repetitive piano and a groovy
bassline.

This mix shows up
throughout the album, with the group displaying a harder bite, musically
and lyrically, than before. But as the choirlike rounds of repeating
lyrics build over simple, energetic rhythms, Ages and Ages still manages
to retain a bright veneer as it travels through the darkness.